The holiday season is upon us and that means it’s time to start shopping for gifts! If you’re looking for some inspiration, look no further than our holiday shopping guide. Also, Black Friday and Cyber Week are just around the corner, so you can buy your gifts at a better price!

Holiday Shopping Guide 2022

This guide is full of great gift ideas for everyone on your list. So get ready to check off those names and have a stress-free holiday season!

Section 1: The Best Gifts for Her 

As a general rule of thumb, being aware of what women want is key, and paying attention to her likes and dislikes may be a good place to start! And we’ve got some great ideas for gifts that will make her smile.

Here are some of our top picks for the best gifts for her:

1. The classic but never out of fashion beautiful piece of jewelry – She’ll love a stunning necklace, bracelet or pair of earrings. You can also give her a Pandora bracelet with a couple of charms, and at each celebration give her an extra charm. This allows her to accumulate more meaningful pieces in her bracelet and you will always have an easy gift option to give her!

2. A luxurious spa day – Treat her to a day of relaxation and pampering at her favorite spa. Or you can also get her a couples massage and take the opportunity to pamper yourself too!

3. An unforgettable experience – A ticket to her favorite ballet show, an outdoor electronic music concert or tickets to her favorite band, can be an incredible gift! It doesn’t matter if the show is in a few months, the wait will be worth it and she’ll love an unforgettable experience gift.

4. Skin care or beauty kit – Almost all women like to take some self-care time. A beauty kit with products such as eye patches, nail polish and hair masks is a great idea!

5. A good set of earbuds will undoubtedly be appreciated, or a smartwatch to keep track of her workouts and sleep quality. Add a colorful watch strap to make it more feminine and personalized to her style.

Section 2: The Best Gifts for Him 

If you’re looking for something new and different to give the man in your life this holiday season, look no further than our gift guide. 

We’ve got something for every guy, whether he’s into sports, tech, fashion, or just needs a new pair of socks.

1. Sports Items. For the sports fan, we recommend a new set of golf clubs, or a box of unique baseball or preferred sports cards. This season, you can give him a World Cup album and a box of stamps! Your man will really appreciate that you take into account his soccer hobbies and that you want to share it with him.

2. Tech articles. The tech-savvy guy will always love a smartwatch, a new laptop or tablet, although we know that those gifts are more expensive and you need to have a bigger budget. If he is a person who constantly forgets things, you can also give him an apple air tag so he never misplaces a bag or wallet again.

3. Fashionable gifts. The fashion-forward man will appreciate a trendy new smart watch or regular watch, as well as a pair of trendy sunglasses. The aviator model is always a hit for any type of face!

4. A good massage or man spa it’s something he will appreciate as well! If he wears a beard, a good beard treatment is always appreciated, perhaps accompanied by a good beard trimmer and facial care products.

5. Something for making an unforgettable grill. As Weber afirms, “There’s no gift that keeps giving like a grill. Because when you gift a Weber grill or accessory, they’ll keep grilling and giving for years to come.”

For the beef lovers and grill experts this may be an amazing gift that you may also enjoy, while he exerts his cooking abilities for a party of friends. Find the perfect present for the special man in your life. He’s sure to appreciate it.

Section 3: The Best Gifts for Kids 

From educational toys and games to books and puzzles, there’s something on this list for every child on your shopping list. 

And if you’re looking for something a little extra special, we’ve also included a few splurge-worthy items that are sure to bring a smile to their face. 

Ages 5-11

1. A next level slime kit may put their creative juices at play. Kids are obsessed with them for some unknown reason. 

2. A toy cooking oven that bakes, so your little ones feel like big chefs. They may even surprise you with something that really tastes delicious and you won’t even have to fake it’s the best thing you’ve tasted. 

3. A karaoke set can bring out the talent in the family. It is a very fun activity to spend with the family and sing your favorite songs! You never know, you may be launching a future Emmy Winner Star. 

4. A good book, a good puzzle, or a good board game suited for the age may leave a permanent mark and give them the most important skills for life.

So what are you waiting for? Take a look at our guide and find the perfect gift for the little ones in your life. They’re sure to love whatever you choose!

 Ages 12-17

1. A new smartphone or tablet may be the most appreciated gift, as engaging through social media and gaming is undoubtedly increasingly important nowadays. 

2. A new bike they love so it’s not all smartphones and tablets, keeping up with outdoor activities. If the whole family has bikes, going for a ride around your neighborhood or to a park is a very healthy habit that will create new experiences for everyone.

3. A trip experience to Disneyland, or some other desired fantasy land they dream about. Disney parks are beautiful at this time of year and the shows with their favorite cartoon characters will be something they will never forget.

4. Books, if they like to read of course, and if they do, a special edition of some sort or  a trilogy of their favorite series may be a great gift to encourage their reading habits.

5. A subscription to the streaming channel they really want. Today there are many options of subscriptions and movies are divided into several streaming channels, so an annual subscription to that channel will give everyone the chance to enjoy a family afternoon watching their favorite movie or series.

Conclusion: Get a head start on your holiday shopping with this guide! 

Forget the same old gifts this holiday season! Check out our guide for something different and creative that allows you to give a present that your family, partner or friends will never forget!

The holidays are a time for giving, but what do you give the person who has everything? This year, ditch the socks and ties and give a gift that will really show you care. Here are some unique gift ideas that will put a smile on any face.

So get a head start on your holiday shopping and keep our guide at hand! You’re sure to find something for everyone on your list.

Teamwork Commerce is a flexible tech stack for retailers that includes POS, OMS, Clienteling, Inventory Control and Reporting – a cloud-based system that is constantly evolving to provide cutting-edge technology to meet the needs of the ever-changing retail landscape.

With Teamwork’s omnichannel solution, retailers gain a deeper understanding of their customers to provide personalized experiences through invisible technology. Trusted by top retailers globally including, Moose Knuckles, Colorado Rockies, Asics, Milwaukee Bucks, and Catbird. Learn more at www.teamworkcommerce.com.

Watch the Webinar

Glean insights on how to build and maintain loyalty through personalized customer experiences during the holiday season. Hear from Endear Co-founder, Leigh Sevin, and Teamwork Commerce VP of Operations, Jonathan Mauerer.

Make the most of your retail sales: The complete  CRM Comprehensive Guide for Retailers

Defining a CRM

In its simplest form, a CRM or Customer Relationship Manager, is a database of your customers and potential customers. This can include their contact information, but also data about their purchase history, preferences, and interactions with your company. It also includes features for tracking customer interactions, managing customer information, and automating marketing tasks. 

This data can be used to better understand your customer base as a whole, as well as individual customers. It can help you identify trends and target marketing efforts more effectively. CRM data can also be used to improve the overall customer experience, by helping you anticipate needs and address problems more quickly. 

For retailers, a CRM can be a valuable tool for understanding both your customers and your business. By taking the time to implement a CRM system, you can start reaping the benefits of improved customer relationships and increased sales. 

What Does a CRM Include?

 CRMs usually include features like contact management, opportunity tracking, task and event management, quote and order management, billing and invoicing, product and inventory management, customer preferences of styles and color, as well as other useful data such as birthday, past purchases, trends and more. 

CRMs help retailers keep track of their customers’ needs and preferences so they can provide better customer service. In addition, retail CRMs often have built-in marketing automation tools that help retailers create targeted marketing campaigns based on customer behavior and purchase history. 

Overall, a CRM can be a valuable asset for any retailer who wants to streamline their operations and provide better service to their customers. 

How Does a Retailer Use a CRM?

Using a CRM can help retailers improve their customer service, target their marketing more effectively, and increase sales. 

Some of the ways a retailer might use a CRM include:

• Tracking customer interactions and contact information: A CRM can help retailers keep track of customer phone calls, emails, live chats, and social media interactions. This data can be used to create a profile of each customer’s needs and preferences. 
• Managing customer information: A CRM can help retailers store and organize customer data such as contact information, purchase history, and demographic data. This data can be used to segment customers into groups for targeted marketing campaigns. 

The Benefits of a CRM for Retailers

There are many benefits of using a CRM for retailers. Some of the benefits are:

• It allows businesses to have a complete view of their customers. 

This 360-degree view can help businesses better understand their customers’ needs and preferences. Additionally, a CRM can help businesses improve their customer service. 

• By tracking customer interactions and issues, businesses can quickly resolve problems and address complaints. 
• A CRM can help retailers increase sales by providing them with valuable insights into their customers’ buying habits. 

The Different Types of CRMs

There are four main types of CRMs: operational, analytical, collaborative, and strategic. 

1. Operational CRMs help businesses manage day-to-day tasks such as sales, marketing, and customer service. 
2. Analytical CRMs use data to help businesses make decisions about things like product development and pricing. 
3. Collaborative CRMs help businesses work together by sharing information between departments such as sales and marketing. 
4. Strategic CRMs help businesses plan for the future by identifying trends and predicting customer behavior. 

The type of CRM that a business needs depends on its size, industry, and goals. 

Small businesses may only need an operational CRM to manage daily tasks. Large businesses may need all four types of CRMs to manage their complex operations.

How to Implement a CRM

If you’re a retailer looking to implement a CRM, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. 

First, you need to decide what kind of system you want. There are off-the-shelf CRMs that you can purchase and customize to fit your needs, or you can have a custom system built from scratch. 

Once you’ve decided on the type of system you want, you need to gather data about your customers. This data will be used to populate the CRM and help you track your interactions with them.

You should also set up some goals for what you want to achieve with your CRM implementation. 

Why is a CRM important for your Retail Business?

It improves The Overall Sales Process

A CRM system standardizes your sales process to help you efficiently organize your contacts, helping you better manage your customer relationships. 

Since the program is used by your entire team, everyone can efficiently perform routine tasks; there’s an awareness of correct procedure.

A sales CRM is used to keep track of sales and up-sale opportunities.

Track Sales Progress

CRM software for retail management allows retail management to keep track of sales. 

The software can help your business track the volume of calls and emails your reps make and their customer engagements. You will also learn whether your salespeople are generating revenue and performing on established Key Performance Indicators. 

Improve Sales Performance

A CRM system allows you to hold all your important data in one single location, so you will always be able to have quick access to it.

This will allow you to improve sales performance giving every sales associate the right information at the right time. 

Increase Efficiency And Reduce Costs

Tracking your data right, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software for retail business helps simplify even better your customer service. 

It will record all your contacts with clients, phone conversations, emails, visits, service requests, and more. 

It doesn’t only ensure data integrity, but also makes it easy to follow up. 

A CRM software for your retail business helps your customer service team maintain lists of long-standing customers and follow up with queries and solutions.

Standardize Your Business Processes

With a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software for retail businesses, your sales, service, and marketing teams can work more efficiently. 

The software program will help you streamline your business processes and ensure they stay consistent across all your business branches. This will aid your company in obtaining the conversion goals you set for yourself more effectively.

Improve Customer Experience

You can use your CRM to improve the overall customer experience by improving the customer journey. 

A CRM system helps evaluate your customer relationships, pinpointing wherein they are growing or stagnating. You can focus on the needs of your clients and provide what they need at every stage of the journey. 

Better Customer Care

CRM for retail management software helps develop your customer service capabilities. It allows your teams, the service and sales departments to resolve customer issues promptly, answer questions and simply be there, as the customer requires.

Personalized Service

The information you’ve collected about a single customer supports the provision of personalized customer service, specifically tailored for every customer. 

With a retailer management system using CRM software, you can supply your sales and service teams with customer information with ease. 

This gives you the chance to personalize customer service based on your business needs and use personalized service as a commercial strategy.

Learn from your Customers Behaviors

CRM for retail management software gives you the opportunity to understand your customer’s behaviors. This will help you increase earnings and build your connections with individual customers. 

With CRM software, you can examine how often your customers buy from you, what items they buy, where they purchased it and the dollar amount they had to pay.

Know Customers Preferences

Using customer relationship management (CRM) for retail software, you will observe which products are most popular among your customers. With this data at your fingertips, you can begin to sell more of those products by placing them prominently, or even provide special offers based on customers’ preferences. 

Reduce Friction With Customers and improve the Customer Experience

Visual CRM software can reduce the amount of time spent interacting with your customers. In emails, texts, phone calls, social media posts, and instant messages, you can tag pertinent customer information, such as addresses, contact information, numbers, and other private information.

Optimized Customer Experiences

CRM for retail management software enables you to optimize customer-facing processes and work toward specific goals in your retail businesses, improving CX.

Keep Customers Informed

CRM for retail management helps everyone stay informed about product changes, shipping and delivery obligations and brand updates.

Data Integrity & Consistency

CRM for Retail management software helps maintain data integrity. It records your contacts with customers – phone calls, emails, meetings, service requests, etc., in one place. This helps you maintain data integrity within your company.

CRM for retail management software allows you to maintain the integrity of data. It registers every interaction, incoming phone calls, emails, meetings, service requests, and so forth, so you can maintain this integrity throughout your retail business and keep consistency, improving the overall customer experience.

Data Security

CRM designed for retail software enables you to ensure data security. You’re able to exercise control over data accessibility to avoid unauthorized access.

Improve Productivity

A CRM for retail software helps to optimize productivity by increasing employee satisfaction and reducing employee turnover. It provides employees with valuable information and gives them the tools to make informed decisions.

Increase Loyalty Among Customers

CRM software is used by retail stores to keep customers and retain loyal ones. It allows them to set up relevant reports and reminders to keep them coming back.

Powerful Marketing

You can use the analytical tools in the CRM for retail systems to analyze the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns in real time, gain insights and enhance your marketing strategies. 

This will enable you to plan better strategies and enhance results. You can use the reports to appraise the effect of marketing campaigns on revenue, sales, and customer relationships.

Teamwork Commerce is a flexible tech stack for retailers that includes POS, OMS, Clienteling, Inventory Control and Reporting – a cloud-based system that is constantly evolving to provide cutting-edge technology to meet the needs of the ever-changing retail landscape. With Teamwork’s omnichannel solution, retailers gain a deeper understanding of their customers to provide personalized experiences through invisible technology. Trusted by top retailers globally including, Moose Knuckles, Colorado Rockies, Asics, Milwaukee Bucks, and Catbird. Learn more at www.teamworkcommerce.com.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are just around the corner! If you own a retail business, now is the time to start thinking about how you can make the most of these two big shopping days.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are two of the biggest shopping holidays of the year. If you’re a retail business, these are two days that you need to make sure you’re prepared for.

In this blog you will find 13 amazing tips to boost your sales and have a successful Black Friday and Cyber Monday:

13 Ways to make Black Friday & Cyber Monday Sales a Success:

1. Plan ahead and get organized. The key to a successful Black Friday or Cyber Monday sale is planning and organization. Make sure you have enough inventory on hand to meet customer demand, and that your staff is prepared for the influx of shoppers.

2. Promote early and often. Get the word out about your sale as early as possible, using all available channels including social media, email marketing, and in-store advertising. Keep the momentum going by promoting regularly leading up to the big day.

3. Consider your target audience. Who is your ideal customer? How can you reach them? Where are they most likely to be when they’re ready to buy? You can also focus on having exclusive discounts for long-time customers. That way you can build customer loyalty and make sure they will come back later.

4. Make everything easy. Make sure your website is mobile-friendly, and that customers can easily find what they’re looking for. Offer free return shipping, free gift wrapping, and a price-match guarantee to make the shopping experience as convenient as possible.

5. Be social. Be sure to share your excitement about the sale with followers through social media, and encourage them to spread the word. The more people know about the sale, the more likely they are to participate.

6. Stay focused on what matters most. Whether you’re running a holiday sale or a sale throughout the year, stay focused on your bottom line. Don’t let sales promotions get in the way of your long-term goals and objectives.

7. Set a clear start and end date. Keep it simple and clear for shoppers by setting an exact start time and a definite end time for your sale. That way they will plan their purchases based on your offers, their payment dates and other interests they have.

8. Optimize your website for shoppers searching on Google. It is important that you do a keyword research and use them as much as possible on your ecommerce site, as people usually Google these words when they want to shop for Black Friday deals.

9. Make sales event products easily accessible to shoppers. Place items on shelves near the front of the store so they are visible as soon as shoppers enter. Use signage throughout the store to point shoppers in the direction of sale items. Make sure checkout lanes are open and staffed so shoppers can quickly and easily purchase items. 

Offer additional methods of payment such as credit cards or gift cards to make purchasing easier.

Have a dedicated team of employees who are solely responsible for helping shoppers find what they need during the sales event.

10. Offer discounts and deals that are too good to pass up. Shoppers get excited when they see discounts, deals and sales. Use these opportunities to your advantage and offer savings that are so good that shoppers can’t pass them up.

Keep your deals and discounts simple. The more complicated they are, the less likely customers will be to buy them. Make it easy for people to share your deals on social media. That way, you can attract new shoppers who haven’t heard about your Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales yet.

11. Make sure you have the right inventory on hand. You don’t want to run out of stock on a popular item, so be sure you have enough items in different sizes.  

Add new products to your site. Once Black Friday and Cyber Monday are over, you’ll want to expand your product line for the rest of the holiday season. 

Continue to show customers what their card values are and how many points they have left. They’ll keep shopping if they know they can get something for free or a discount on their next purchase. This may be a great time to invest in a good email marketing service.

12. Make sure you’re ready for increased traffic and conversions during the sale period. This is something you don’t want to leave unchecked, because being prepared to handle traffic, both in the store and online, will be essential for continued success.

This will allow after the hustle and bustle Black Friday and Cyber Monday, to follow up with customers to ensure they had a positive experience. Giving them a reason to come back and buy, and even more so to recommend your retail business to the rest of the world.

13. Follow up! Follow up! Follow up! After the rush of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, follow up with customers to ensure they had a positive experience. Give them a reason to come back and shop. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are indisputable shopping holidays. They bring out the best in retailers as they strive to offer customers the best deals around.

By following these tips, your retail business can have a successful Black Friday & Cyber Monday!

Looking forward to seeing you boost your sales through the roof!

Are you ready for Black Friday and Cyber Monday? 

At Teamwork Commerce we are pioneers in retail software and we have one of the most modern and innovative POS systems. We are a cloud-based system in constant evolution, which guarantees the use of the latest technology, with the aim of meeting the most demanding needs of the retail industry, at moments as critical as Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Teamwork Commerce is an industry-leading omnichannel solution that provides retailers with Point of Sale (POS), Order Management (OMS), Inventory Control, CRM and Analytics solutions.

Learn more about us and schedule a demo to take your sales to the next level with one of the best Point of Sale systems on the market.

See original post: https://www.mytotalretail.com/article/how-retailers-can-boost-customer-experience-amid-labor-shortages

The world has started to recuperate from the pandemic and consumers are back to in-store shopping; retailers are keen to make the most of the footfall by providing exceptional in-store experiences. However, one barrier that the retail sector is still trying to overcome is the labor shortage hangover caused by COVID-19.

While retailers struggle to hire new employees, alternative solutions must be found to mitigate any impact on in-store sales. By deploying the right technologies, retailers can lean on innovation to fill the holes left by a lack of staff. The question is how does it look in action.

Deliver More With Limited Staff

Amidst this labor shortage, retailers that still function with traditional point-of-sale (POS) system risk failing to provide a seamless customer experience. Today’s digital natives prefer avoiding long queues at checkout, and instead desire a high-quality service that ensures a frictionless in-store experience while fulfilling their online preferences, such as online browsing and click-and-collect.

Advanced mobile POS (mPOS) applications are capable of operating exclusively on cutting edge iOS devices while simplifying the entire user experience for sales associates. This further allows in-store associates to serve more shoppers in less time while ensuring a top-tier customer experience. And all this can be achieved from any part of the store, which eliminates the frustration of long queues.

Related story: Brick-and-Mortar Isn’t Dead Yet … And E-Commerce Tells Us Why

Streamlining Back-Store Operations

For in-store associates to be able to deliver top level customer service, they must be provided with next-generation back-store support — such as up-to-date consumer data and inventory information. Retailers must ensure that this information is updated in real time to ensure accuracy and relevancy of the data. Manual data entry is time consuming and ongoing staff shortages can make it more difficult for retailers to keep everything updated manually.

Artificial intelligence-powered mPOS solutions, deployed with smart data capture capabilities and secure customer relationship management (CRM), allow retailers to keep track of their inventory in real time — eliminating the need for manual data entry — while creating a highly personalized customer experience.

This provides in-store employees with consumer information (e.g., purchase history, preferences) and inventory data right at their fingertips. Staff can solve customer queries about an expected arrival of a particular item and suggest an alternative based on consumer preferences. What’s more, these associates can even deliver personalized experiences with customized discounts available in mPOS systems.

Efficient Staff Training

When retailers hire new employees, it takes time to train them on complicated traditional POS systems. Sometimes the onboarding process becomes so long that it takes an entire month for an employee to be able to learn everything and get running on the ground. Retailers cannot afford this longer process amid peak season traffic levels.

Technology can expedite in-store training when new hires are acquired — advanced mPOS applications are incredibly user-friendly. By providing stores with simple and easy-to-use software that operates on iOS, new staff can be trained across a number of areas within the store in a fraction of the typical training time. This is especially significant for peak times when retailers hire for temporary positions to fill staffing gaps.

Jonathan Mauerer is vice president, operations at Teamwork Commerce, a leading omnichannel solution, providing retailers with point of sale, order management, inventory control, CRM, and analytics.